


The Sound of You

by markwasalone



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: ASMR, Jealousy, M/M, McHanzo - Freeform, Youtube AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-23 15:09:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16161407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markwasalone/pseuds/markwasalone
Summary: Hanzo becomes increasingly stressed with his responsibilities to the family business and it starts taking a toll on his sleep. Not wanting to see his brother suffer, Genji introduces him to ASMR to help with the stress. Eventually, Hanzo stumbles upon Jesse's channel and finds himself enamored by the strange man.





	1. Southern Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> I like McHanzo and I like ASMR so here we are lads.   
> In case you don't know what ASMR is, you can check out this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb27NHO_ubg

Hanzo had first been introduced to ASMR through his brother Genji. Being the heir to the family business put him under considerable stress which eventually began to affect his sleeping habits. The more responsibility he took on, the harder it was to fall asleep at night. With his normal relaxation techniques proving ineffectual, he reluctantly resorted to asking his younger brother for help. Genji had seen how much his brother was struggling to keep up with his duties and was eager to do whatever he could to help. Having been an ASMR viewer himself, he linked Hanzo a popular ASMR channel and hoped for the best. 

Luckily it worked out well and Hanzo's sleeping issues began to diminish. Soon after that, Genji came to him with a suggestion.

"You want us to make an ASMR channel together?"

"Yes"

"Do we even possess the equipment for that?"

"No, not right now. But it would be so easy to find a decent mic online." 

"I'm not sure about this." Hanzo said, eyeing his brother warily. 

"C'mon Hanzo, think about how much fun we'll have." Genji replied, playfully nudging Hanzo's shoulder. 

"..."

"Think about all the people we can help with our videos."

"Fine, I suppose you have a point."

"Great! I'll start looking at microphones." Genji beamed at his brother. 

"Nothing too expensive I'm sure." Hanzo admonished, acutely aware of how impulsive the younger man could be. 

"Of course not brother." Genji said with a dismissive wave of his hand. 

 

Genji did end up buying one of the most expensive mic he could find. He also took the liberty of naming the channel. 

"SuperShimadaBrothers, really?" 

"What? It's catchy." 

Hanzo sighed. 

 

They had started off the channel with a simple video of both of them taking turns speaking in Japanese. While Hanzo tried to stay professional, Genji couldn't resist going off script and teasing his brother. Their antics turned out to be a hit and they hit 1k likes within 24 hours of posting. 

Apparently they were one of the very few male ASMR YouTubers who spoke Japanese in their videos, giving them an edge over the myriad of other channels. Encouraged by the hundreds of kind comments, they decided to continue their channel. Not all of their videos had both brothers in them, each of them would do their own thing every now and then. Hanzo enjoyed making tea preparation videos while Genji liked doing mukbangs and showing off his cosplay skills. One of their most popular uploads was their Halloween themed video.

"Hey everyone, my brother is sick in the other room so It'll just be me for this video. Halloween is coming up so I thought I'd show you guys my costume. It took months to make this but here it is, a cyborg ninja! Pretty cool right? You're probably wondering what Hanzo is going as. Don't tell him I told you this but I'm pretty sure it's just a furry costume"

Hanzo's voice rang from the other room.  
"It's an okami costume, brother."

"Sure, whatever you say. Now go back to bed." Genji replied. 

Over time their channel steadily kept growing. They both read the comments on all their videos but Genji was usually the one to reply to them. Hanzo was content to only read them. He particularly liked the ones telling them how much their videos helped them sleep. Peaceful moments were some of his most precious so the knowledge that he was helping others reach that point brought him a unique sense of fulfillment. 

One day he was browsing his recommended videos for background noise before starting dinner and came across a channel he hadn't seen before. 

"Peacekeeper ASMR"

His interest piqued, he visited the channel page and clicked on the most popular upload titled "Southern Comfort." 

"Must be some kind of roleplay." he thought to himself. 

The video opened to a handsome man in a cowboy hat speaking softly to the camera. Hanzo had neglected reading the description so he wasn't sure what to expect. 

"Howdy darlin, I missed you. What's the matter, had a long day? Well don't you worry yer pretty little head I'm here for you. How about you just lie down here with me and I'll make you feel better sweetheart."

The video continued with the man showering the camera with affection. 

"People actually enjoy these videos?" Hanzo thought to himself incredulously. 

Despite this thought, he found himself unable to look away from the mysterious man on camera. There was something about this man that left him feeling mesmerized, the honeyed words and southern drawl were undeniably attractive. It almost made him forget about how goofy he looked in that cowboy hat. Hanzo eventually finished the video and quickly became embarrassed when he realized that he hadn't even started dinner in the half hour it took him to finish the video. Figuring that Genji wouldn't be home for another hour, he returned to his room and queued up another video. 

20 minutes later, Genji came through the front door of their apartment. 

"Hanzo, I'm home" he announced as he walked towards the kitchen. 

"You wouldn't believe what happened while I wa-" he stopped mid sentence upon noticing Hanzo wasn't in the kitchen.

"That's strange, he's usually almost done with dinner by now" he thought to himself. 

Surprised that his brother would deviate from his routine, he went to peek into Hanzo's room. Cracking the door open, Genji spotted him laying in bed with his laptop opened and his earphones in. 

"He must be watching an ASMR video" Genji thought to himself. 

But that didn't make any sense since Hanzo only watched those videos before bed. Why would he be watching one before dinner? Curious, Genji snuck his way further into the room to try and get a look at the video that had so thoroughly captured his brother's attention. 

"Is that a cowboy?"

Hanzo was startled out of his trance by Genji's words. 

"Genji!? When did you get in here!?"

"Just a second ago. You're normally cooking dinner at this time but you weren't in the kitchen so I came looking for you. What are you watching?"

"N-nothing" Hanzo replied defensively, his face tinting pink at being caught so off guard. 

"Well it must be something if you broke your schedule for it. I can barely get you to come to the mall with me sometimes." Genji teased.

"I was just researching other types of ASMR videos, it's always good to have more variety on our channel." Hanzo said, hoping his brother would buy the lie. 

After a pause that seemed to drag on forever, Genji replied "Well look at you, trying out new things. I told you roleplays were popular for a reason and given some of our comments I'm sure plenty of our fans would love some personal attention from you." Hanzo momentarily breathed a sigh of relief until Genji continued: "It doesn't hurt that lone ranger over there is easy on the eyes. Don't worry, plenty of our viewers just watch for your handsome face too." 

Embarrassed from the younger man's words, Hanzo quickly shut his laptop and went to the kitchen to start making dinner.


	2. ASMccRee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story behind Jesse's channel and the first step of Genji's plan is put into motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was writing the first chapter there was a part of me that was worried that ASMR would be too niche of a topic for people to get into. But I was pleasantly surprised to see your comments and I'm really glad that you guys have taken a liking to my fic. I guess you could say the enthusiasm was infectious b/c I felt energized enough to finish chapter 2 today. I hope you guys enjoy. 
> 
> *Also just a side note I should have explained earlier, the word "trigger" in the ASMR community has a positive meaning.   
> For example: Hearing someone speaking softly in your ear could trigger your ASMR and make you feel more relaxed. 
> 
> I also wanna thank my friend ByTheBi for being my beta and listening to all my ramblings while I wrote this chapter c:

Jesse began his ASMR channel as a sort of joke. His boss Gabe had teased him about how he flirts with everyone at work on multiple occasions. Saying that if he's going to be such a Casanova, he might as well make some money from it. Confused as to what he meant, Jesse asked what exactly he had in mind. 

"There's this thing on the internet called ASMR. Basically they're videos focused on helping people get to sleep. I don't really have time to explain everything since we're on the clock, you do know how to use a computer right kid?"

"Well a-course Gabe, I ain't no idiot. But I just don't get how flirting is gonna help someone fall asleep is all."

"Just look it up when you get home, I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out" Gabe said while giving his shoulder a few pats. 

 

As soon as Jesse got home, he booted up his laptop and searched up "What the heck is ASMR?" The top result was a video of a young woman giving an in-depth explanation of it so he clicked on it and began to watch. "Well damn this is a lot more complex than I thought it was." he thought to himself as he finished up the video. Clicking through his recommended feed, he eventually came across one titled "Boyfriend Roleplay." 

"This must be what Gabe was talking about" he figured as he began watching. The video opened to a handsome bearded man whispering sweet nothings to the camera, his rugged voice sending shivers down Jesse's spine. 

"I guess I know what one of my triggers is" he joked aloud to himself. 

After a while, Jesse felt awkward looking directly at the man so he scrolled down to the comment section. There were many comments gushing over how attractive the man was, but there were also quite a few that were simply thankful that the video made them feel safe and comfortable. Reading the heartfelt messages helped him understand why these videos were so popular, but he was still curious as to how much money a person actually makes from doing this sort of content. Scrolling back up he noticed the channel had over 100k subscribers, that would bring a nice chunk of ad revenue. 

"Well I'll be damned" he whispered to himself. 

 

And with that, a new venture was beginning. After getting a decent mic and setup, Jesse began filming his first video. Part way through recording he realized he should have some kind of gimmick if he wanted to stand out among the myriad of other male ASMRtists. Sure he thought of himself as handsome, it was part of the reason he was so confident in his shameless flirting, but when most of the other channels have guys just as handsome as him he needs something a little extra. Glancing around his living room, he spotted the cowboy hat he'd worn the past few Halloweens. Figuring it was better than nothing, he put on the hat, played up his southern accent a bit more, and began a new recording of him softly speaking terms of endearment to the camera. 

After a few takes and an hour of editing, he finally had his product: a simple 20 minute video titled "Southern Comfort." Despite its short length relative to other ASMR videos, it blew up shortly after being uploaded with several comments complimenting him on his handsome features and begging for more of his southern drawl. With such a positive reception, who was Jesse to deny the people what they wanted? Seeing as to how quickly his audience took to the whole cowboy angle, he decided to lean into it even more. He went on to make a sheriff roleplay, and a boot shining video. He even made a gun cleaning video with the replica revolver Gabe had gotten him last Halloween to help complete his costume. It was around this time when he decided to change his channel name from "ASMccRee" to "Peacekeeper ASMR." He'll admit the original name wasn't the best, plus peacekeeper was more on brand with the direction of his channel. 

One day while sifting through the comments section of his latest video, he noticed one comment in particular had gained a lot likes. 

"Really liked the video man, never thought I'd see a whispering cowboy before lol. I actually have an ASMR channel that I run with my brother, we'd love to collab with you sometime if you're interested :D" -SuperShimadaBros 

Curious, he clicked on the comment and was taken to their channel page. They had been active for longer than he had and the sheer number of their videos was impressive. Looking over their uploads, he decided to start from the beginning and watch their first video. Clicking on it, he was greeted with the sight of 2 men sitting on a couch together and having a quiet back and forth. Both men seemed to be in their mid 20s, with the green haired one appearing to be a bit younger than his darker haired brother. While they were both definitely handsome, there was something about the older one that caught his attention. A few moments passed before he realized that he had gotten too distracted by the handsome man to actually listen to what they were saying. Plugging in his earphones and turning up the volume, he listened intently to their conversation hoping he hadn't missed their names. 

"Oh look at that, we've been talking for 5 minutes and we haven't even introduced ourselves yet brother." Genji said, chuckling softly. 

"How rude of us, let's remedy that then. My name is Hanzo and this is my younger brother Genji. We've been fans of ASMR for a few months now and we finally decided to try giving back to the community with our own videos." explained Hanzo. 

"Wellllll technically it was my idea to start the channel." chirped Genji while giving a dramatic look off camera.

The brothers then devolved into some light bickering, but Jesse was momentarily distracted once again. 

"Hanzo." he said quietly to himself, letting the name roll off his tongue. 

Turning his attention back to the screen, he noticed their posture had changed from the beginning of the video. Both brothers had started out a bit stiff given it was their first time on camera, but as the video went on he could see how easily they adjusted to it. By the end of the video they looked like naturals. Between their good looks, endearing dynamic and soothing voices, Jesse could see why they ended up getting so popular. 

A collaboration with them was looking more and more appealing to him. The exposure alone from appearing on a bigger channel was reason enough for him to agree, spending some time with a man as attractive as Hanzo was just icing on the cake. Finding their business email address on their about page, he sent them a message accepting the invite to collaborate and giving his availability for when they could start filming. After hitting send, he began getting ready to sleep. But not before queuing up a video of Hanzo giving Japanese lessons. He eventually drifted to sleep with the sound of the man's husky voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looked up a bunch of ASMR videos to try and get a feel for what kind of videos each of them would make. Here are some examples if you guys are interested.   
> Jesse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsL11MzXdoE&t=282s  
> Hanzo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibqKQrCRP7E  
> Genji: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpePyDT0dFo&t=103s   
> (the last one technically isn't ASMR but I felt like he had the fun/goofy vibe I was looking for)
> 
> Next chapter will be Hanzo exploring more of Jesse's videos and the collab not quite going according to plan.


	3. The Collaboration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The collab doesn't go quite as planned but luckily Genji is resourceful.

Hanzo was lounging on his couch when Genji entered the room with a wicked look on his face. 

"What's with that face?" questioned Hanzo while giving his brother a cautious look. 

"Oh nothing brother...it's just I'm the best brother in the world and you should be thankful for all I do." said Genji in a sing song voice. 

"And what exactly is it that you did?" 

"Well you know that cowboy you've been obsessed with--"   
"I'm not obsessed!" Hanzo interjected.   
"I simply appreciate his artistry when it comes to our craft." he continued. 

"Yeah you sure do appreciate him an awful lot, I've seen you watching his videos at least twice a day. I bet if took your phone from you now, all of your Youtube history would be filled with his videos." 

"He has a good voice for ASMR." 

"That he does, but I'm sure him being easy on the eyes has nothing to do with your infatuation with him." teased Genji. 

"..."

"Or maybe it's the smoldering looks he gives the camera every now and then. Oh! And we can't forget how strong his shoulders looked in that one video where he wore the tank top."

"F-fine I MAY enjoy his content for more than just his voice. It's not that big of a deal though." sputtered Hanzo defensively. 

"Ah-hah, knew I was right. Well lucky for you, he won't just be a pretty face on your laptop for long" 

"What do you mean?" 

"I may or may not have asked him to collab with us a few days ago." 

"YOU DID WHAT!?" 

"Hey, I love doing collabs and you finally get to meet your Huckleberry. It's a win-win." grinned Genji. 

"Hold on one moment, I didn't even know he lived that close by." 

"I know, I was surprised too but I'm not complaining and neither should you. C'mon brother, what are the odds your crush lives only 20 minutes away from us? It's like fate is practically pushing you two together." 

"From where I'm standing it looks more like a meddling twink is trying to bring us together instead of fate." 

"Ouch, your words wound me brother." said Genji while giving a dramatic sigh. 

"Also I'm a twunk not a twink, our comment section said so." he corrected. 

Hanzo rolled his eyes. 

"You didn't even ask me if I wanted to collaborate with him." 

"Didn't have to, that blush on your face is all the answer I need."

"You're insufferable." sighed Hanzo as he rubbed his temples.

"I think what you meant to say was "Thank you Genji for being the best brother ever and getting me a date with the handsome cowboy I'm in love with."" Genji said while attempting his best Hanzo impression. 

"I'm not in love with him and it's not a date. I haven't even agreed to do the video yet. And besides, how do you know he's interested in men?" 

"He talked about it in his Q & A video. Maybe if you watched something other than his boyfriend roleplays you'd know more about him" joked Genji. 

Hanzo paused for a second. It seemed foolish but there was a small part of him that was happy to learn his crush was also gay. But given how busy work kept him, could he really spare the time to date? The worst thing would be if they got together only to break up once Jesse realized how little free time he had. Things would be easier for everyone if he just kept his feelings as purely fantasy. Pushing aside his thoughts, he doubled down on his stance. 

"Well it's still not going to happen. I barely have the free time to make videos for our own channel, much less an entire collaboration." 

It wasn't a total lie. Work had been picking up in the recent weeks and he was finding it harder to find the time to film. So what if he failed to mention that things were going to lighten up after he finished closing this particularly difficult deal. He hoped pulling the work card would make Genji not press him any further on the matter. 

"Ugh fine, I guess I can't push you to do this if you don't have the time for it" Genjj relented. 

"Well I suppose then you should contact him and let him know it's not going to happen." Hanzo said. 

"Oh definitely not. He seems like a cool guy and I want to collab with him even if you're too busy to join us. In fact, I'll call him right now and see if he's free" said Genji as he pulled out his phone. 

"When did you get his number?" 

"He included it in the email he sent us, seemed very eager to film with us. But I guess one Shimada bro is better than none." 

Before Hanzo could reply, Genji was already greeting Jesse on the phone as he walked towards the kitchen. The urge to not let his brother be proven right was stronger than his urge to eavesdrop, so Hanzo excused himself and went to his own room before shutting the door and heading to bed. 

 

The next day day Hanzo woke up to find Genji in the kitchen with breakfast already prepared. 

"You're up early." observed Hanzo.

"Yeah, Jesse wanted to meet at his place in the morning before he starts his late shift. Are you sure you don't want to come with me? We should only be a few hours so it wouldn't interfere with your work too much." 

"I can't waste time when I have this many things on my plate brother, you know that." 

"Fiiiiine, I just figured I'd give you one last shot at seeing your dream guy. But don't worry I'll be sure to see if he's as muscular as he looks in his vids and report back to you." Genji joked as he dodged a piece of toast being chucked at his head. 

 

After 20 minutes of driving and a short walk up some stairs, Genji found himself in front of Jesse's front door. Foregoing knocking, he let himself in just like Jesse had asked him to. 

"Uh hey Jesse, it's Genji. You ready to make some magic happen." he said jovially. 

No response. 

He walked through the apartment until he found Jesse sitting at a desk with his headphones in and his back to the younger man. Curious as to what he was doing, Genji snuck up behind him to peek at the screen. 

He recognized the video immediately. It was the Q & A video he'd filmed with Hanzo to celebrate them reaching 100k subscribers. Jesse was at a particularly interesting part of the video since the Genji on screen was enjoying himself at his brother's expense. 

"Do we have girlfriends? Well we're both single but just for clarification I'm bi so it's not like only girls have a chance. But when it comes to Hanzo, I'm sorry ladies but he is about as gay as they come!" he exclaimed. 

"Genji!" Hanzo said in a warning tone. 

"What? We wouldn't want you leading on any of our lovely lady fans would we? And besides, I'm sure we made a lot of our male fans very happy with this new information." he said as he winked at the camera. 

Their banter caused Jesse to let out a hearty laugh. His curiosity sated, Genji tapped Jesse on the shoulder to announce his presence. 

"Oh hey Genji I didn't hear you come in. Nice to finally meet you." he said as he extended a friendly hand. 

"Yeah likewise man, nice place you got here. I see you're catching up on some of my older vids." 

"Haha yeah I figured that I'd brush up on your content so I know what to expect." 

A moment of silence passed between them. 

"So uh, is your brother on his way too?" Jesse asked, trying to sound nonchalant. 

"Unfortunately my brother is too busy with work so it's just me today." 

He noticed Jesse seemed to deflate a bit at that. 

"But hey don't worry, I'm twice as fun as he is anyway." he grinned. 

"Haha I like the enthusiasm." said Jesse, trying to mask any hint of disappointment in his voice. So what if he wasn't going to meet Hanzo? A collab with Genji would still give his channel a boost and it was hard to stay upset with how infectious the younger man's positivity was. It wasn't like he spent last night fantasizing about hearing the elder brother's voice in person. Or how firm his hand would feel when they would finally shake hands. He definitely wasn't hoping to catch a glimpse of the dragon tattoo that peeked out of his short sleeved shirts in some videos. 

It wasn't until Genji waved a hand in front of his face that he realized he must've been spacing out.

"Sorry, I uh thought I saw a bug on the ceiling. What kind of video were you thinking we should do?" asked Jesse. 

"Well I ate breakfast but to be honest I'm still pretty hungry. How about we do a mukbang?"

"A muk-whodawhat? Ain't that a Pokemon?" 

"Oh man you'd get along great with my brother. He has a very limited knowledge of pop culture too." Genji joked. 

"But no, it's just eating on camera very quietly. People seem to really enjoy it." he went on to explain. 

"Oh well in that case how bout you help me cook us up some grub?" 

"Sounds good to me, what do you need me to do?" 

"I'm gonna get the ingredients out. Can you grab my laptop and bring it to the kitchen? I got a playlist for music I like to listen to while I cook."

"Gotcha" said Genji as he brought over the laptop. After putting it down on the counter, he clicked on Jesse's playlists. Searching through them, he stumbled across one labelled ASMR. Clicking on it, he was greeted by a number of ASMR videos from various channels. 

"These must be his favorites." he thought to himself. Peering over at Jesse still occupied with the cooking, he scrolled through the playlist. The first thing that stood out to him was that many of the most recent videos added to the playlist were from his own channel. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the vast majority of them were Hanzo's videos. Things were proving to be much more interesting than he had expected. 

"You good?" asked Jesse. 

"Yeah I'm fine, just got distracted for a second there. Didn't know you were such a huge fan of my channel." he grinned as he turned the screen to show Jesse the playlist. 

"Well yeah I mean you and Hanzo do a really great job on that channel so a-course I'mma fan" he said while chopping some carrots. 

"I have to admit though, I'm a little hurt that none of my solo vids are here. Seems you have a favorite Shimada brother." 

The chopping stopped for a second. 

"I just like his voice is all, nothing against you man." Jesse said with a faint blush starting to form on his cheeks. 

"Mhmm." Genji said, unconvinced. He was having way too much fun with this. 

"Well I'm just saying that I'm sure he'd be flattered by your admiration. He really takes pride in what he does. I mean I do too but he was always the more serious one out of us." he continued. 

"Why couldn't he make it? If you don't mind me askin."

"My brother is usually a very busy man due to the expectations our father has for him with the family business. He said this week's workload would keep him too busy to film." 

"Ah that's a shame." 

"Yeah my brother works hard to make our father proud. I appreciate it since it means less things for me to have to worry about, but sometimes I just think he works too hard. And I can only pester him so much to relax every now and then." 

Jesse nodded his head in understanding. 

"Part of me wishes he'd find a boyfriend already. Maybe a nice business man, oooh or even another ASMRtist. Then he'd definitely have to relax more." 

"Oh?" Jesse said with a hopeful tone. 

"Yeah it'd be perfect, especially if the guy was in good shape. An accent wouldn't hurt either." 

"Interesting..." muttered Jesse to himself, flexing his right arm a bit. 

"What was that?" 

"Oh nothing just talking to myself. So uh, what else does your brother like in a guy?" 

Genji smirked, they were making this too easy.


	4. Hanzo's Long Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to see what Hanzo was doing while Genji and Jesse were filming the collab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry this ended up taking more time than I expected it to. NYCC and AC Odyssey took up a lot of my time this past week but now I'm back with another chapter.

After Genji had left to head to Jesse's apartment, Hanzo wasn't sure what to do with himself. While he had only slightly exaggerated how much work he had to do, he did still have to dedicate a few hours of his day to completing it. Deciding that he'd enjoy his morning a little longer, he went over to his couch to lay down and pull out his phone. Scrolling through his Youtube feed he noticed Jesse's Q & A video had come up in his recommended. Staring at the thumbnail, he blushed slightly at recalling Genji teasing him over only watching Jesse's boyfriend roleplays. While not entirely untrue, he did notice that he seemed to prefer those videos from Jesse, even if he'd never admit it to his brother. Brushing off his momentary embarrassment, he clicked on the video. 

"Howdy y'all, welcome back to my channel. Now this here video is gonna be a bit different from my usual content. The first thing you've probably already noticed is that I'm not whispering. I figured if you were watching this vid to get to know me a bit better then it would help to hear what I normally sound like when I'm not doing ASMR. Another thing you may have noticed is that I finally hit 50k subscribers! I just wanna thank ya kindly for all the love and support you give me. Now what better way to celebrate this milestone than a Q & A video?" 

Hanzo paused the video for a moment. "So this is how Jesse normally sounds." he thought to himself. At this point he was pretty certain he'd enjoy Jesse's voice no matter what he was using it for. He mentally kicked himself for being so stubborn and not just going with Genji earlier. But it was too late to change things now. Pushing the thought aside, he resumed watching. 

"Well let's see here what kind of questions I got. How did I start ASMR? This is going to make me sound a bit selfish but my friend Gabe actually suggested I try making videos to make some extra cash on the side." 

Hanzo recoiled a bit at that answer. ASMR had been something he took seriously just for its potential to help people. Hearing the object of his affection so casually explain that he just cared about the money hurt a bit. 

"Now I'll admit that is why I started my channel but after reading so many nice comments it became something more than that. Now don't get me wrong, I really appreciate all the donations I get from you guys but what really keeps me going is knowing that I can help so many people feel relaxed enough to sleep." 

He released the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. 

"Okay let's see here. What's my sexuality? Oh man I know a lot of you been dying to know this, especially some of my regulars. Well to answer your question, I'm gay. Been out my whole life so it's not that big of a deal. But don't worry ladies I do make an effort to keep my videos gender neutral so as many people can enjoy them as possible. And for the fellas out there, you're in luck because yes I am still single." he said with a wink to the camera that definitely didn't make anything in Hanzo's stomach flutter. 

"Alright next question, this one's a bit wordier than the other one: 

"Hey Jesse, my name's Jane and I've been a big fan of your channel since you started. My question is a little personal so feel free to not answer if you're not comfortable with doing so. What's something you're self conscious about and how do you deal with it? I'm asking because I have really bad social anxiety and I'm always worried about what other people are thinking of me. One of the reasons I like your videos so much is that you're so confident in all of them and I wish I could be more like you. I guess I'm asking this question because I'm curious how you handle the parts of yourself that are more difficult to deal with." 

On screen, Jesse opened his mouth to speak then stopped for a moment as if unsure of what to say. After collecting himself, he began to answer: "Well first off I wanna say thank you for opening up to me like that Jane, I'm sure it took a lot of energy to type that out with your anxiety n all. I don't got many things about myself that I'm self conscious about now, but I wasn't always like this. I ain't exactly been hiding this but I suppose it never really came up in my videos. I don't have my left arm anymore, lost it in an accident a few years back. I don't really want to go into all the gritty details but it was definitely something that I was extremely self conscious about for a while after the accident. It was really tough at first ya know? I had all these thoughts racing through my head. Were people gonna stare at me? Was I going to be able to keep working at my job? Hell, a part of me was afraid no guy would ever give me a second look." 

Seeing the somber look on Jesse's face as he opened up about himself made Hanzo's heart ache. He had no idea the man had been through something so traumatic. Steeling himself, he refocused on the man on screen. 

"My life was rough for a while after that. I ain't gonna sugar coat it, I was pissed off for months. Definitely wasn't that fun to be around either. But lucky for me I had my buddy Gabe there to knock some sense into me. I still remember the little speech he gave me after he got tired of seeing me moping. Something about how he knew I could make the adjustment and was an idiot for thinking I'd never bounce back. Haha he's definitely more of a tough love kind of guy, but he got through to me and I started getting used to it. People staring bothered me somethin fierce in the beginning but by the time I got my prosthetic it didn't bother me none. Work had to make a few accommodations for me but things started to feel like they were going back to normal after a while. I'd say that a lot of my stress came from me makin mountains outta mole hills so once I started to change my perspective, things got easier for me. I even managed to go on a few dates that went pretty well. Most guys tended not to care much about the prosthetic, especially when it's attached to such a handsome fellow like myself." 

Hanzo rolled his eyes at Jesse's grin as he said that last line. The cowboy definitely had more to him than just a deep voice and a handsome face. It seemed silly but he could feel his crush growing a bit stronger at seeing the man be so vulnerable about his ups and downs. Only Jesse could find a way to stroke his own ego while telling a story about being insecure. Checking the time, Hanzo realized that he needed to get to work soon. Saving the video to watch for later, he began getting dressed before leaving for work.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Later That Night  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hanzo arrived back home exhausted. What should've been a relatively straightforward contract ended up being a mess due to one particularly difficult customer. After a seemingly endless number of complications, the deal was finally sealed and he earned himself a much needed rest. Unfortunately, his go to method of helping him sleep was proving ineffectual. He had been looking forward to getting home, collapsing on his bed, and pulling up a video from his favorite ASMRtist but things were not going according to plan. Clicking on Jesse's channel, he was surprised to see a new upload. 

"Mukbang Collab with 1 of the SuperShimadaBros" 

The thumbnail was of Jesse with his arms slung over the mystery man's shoulder, a big question mark photoshopped over the face. "Leave it to Genji to insist on a clickbait thumbnail." he thought to himself. A small part of him was jealous that his brother got to feel Jesse's arm around him but he shrugged that feeling aside. Normally Genji would've insisted on telling him all about the video but he still hadn't returned home yet. Curious as to how the video turned out, he clicked on it.

"Howdy y'all welcome back to my channel. Today I have a very special guest with me, Genji from SuperShimadaBros." Jesse said as he gestured to the shorter man. 

"Hey everybody, I'm super excited to be here. Jesse here has been one of my favorite ASMRtists recently so I asked him to collab and here we are." Hanzo raised his brow at that line. Sure Genji had mentioned being a fan of Jesse's channel but he never said it was his favorite. Chalking it up to him just being a good guest, Hanzo continued watching the video. 

Apparently they had planned on eating something Jesse cooked, but Genji had accidentally spilled the dish on himself so they ended up eating ramen instead. Now that he thought about it, that shirt Genji is wearing in the video seems to be a size too big for him. Had Jesse lent him one of his own? Hanzo's shoulders tensed for a second. He decided it would be wise to just listen to the video while he read the comment section. This turned out to be a huge mistake. All of the most up voted comments had something to say about how cute they looked together: 

"Omg I can't believe you two actually collabed. Genji looks so adorable in Jesse's shirt, did he let you keep it? :)"  
"MY 2 FAVES IN THE SAME VIDEO AND HAVING PERFECT CHEMISTRY, I FEEL BLESSED."  
"Did y'all see the little glances Genji gave Jesse when he wasn't looking???? That boy has it bad."  
"When Genji stole Jesse's hat at 6:02 I just kjsavjknsdfkvnwdknvke." 

Hanzo's jaw clenched. 

Closing the Youtube app on his phone, he opened up his email and quickly began writing one to Jesse. 

"Dear Jesse, 

This is Hanzo from the SuperShimadaBros channel. I just wanted to apologize for not being able to film with you and my brother earlier today. Work has really been picking up for the past few days and I haven't had much free time. Part of me feels guilty that only one of us was able to come so I was wondering if you'd like to film a video with me sometime? One of my clients just cancelled on me so I find myself with some extra free time this weekend. Please let me know if you are interested. 

PS. I also apologize if my brother was a bit much to work with. He can be quite clumsy sometimes and this wouldn't be the first time I've seen him accidentally spill someone else's cooking. 

Sincerely,  
Hanzo Shimada" 

Looking over the email, he paused for a moment. Was he really going to let his brother's antics have such an effect on him? 

At that moment, Genji barged into his room still wearing Jesse's shirt.  
"Hey Hanzo, sorry I'm home so late. Jesse wanted to celebrate our new vid with some pizza after we finished uploading. I brought you back a slice." he said he gestured to the pizza box in his hands. 

Hanzo stared at his brother for a moment, before wordlessly turning back to his phone and hitting send.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun chapter to write. I'm feeling inspired to finish the last chapter so that should be out soon. While writing I had a few new ideas for this fic so I might end up writing some bonus chapters later on. I hope you guys are enjoying how events are unfolding.


	5. The (Better) Collaboration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited collab between Hanzo and Jesse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter is here y'all, this was definitely my favorite one to write.

Jesse arrived at Hanzo's apartment after a short drive. Standing in front of the door, he paused for a moment to collect himself. He'd flirted with plenty of attractive men before, so this should be a cake walk. After taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. A few moments passed before the door opened to greet him with the sight of Hanzo dressed in an impeccable black suit with blue accents. His voice caught in his throat. After a few beats, he realized that he probably looked like an idiot just staring at the other man like that. 

"H-howdy..." he stuttered out. 

Hanzo gave him an inquisitive look. "Hello Jesse, I'm glad you could make it." he said politely before gesturing for Jesse to come inside. 

"Nice place you got here." Jesse said with a whistle, marveling at the decor. "My place ain't even half as fancy as this setup." he added jokingly. 

"Why thank you, I did most of the decorating. God knows Genji wouldn't have had the patience to...or the taste." he replied with a small smile. 

Jesse gave a rich, deep laugh at the jab. Hearing it made Hanzo feel warm. 

"Yeah I gathered as much from when he was over at my place. Where is he anyway?"

The warmth disappeared, replaced by something more acidic. 

"My brother is off with his friend today, so it's just you and me." he answered curtly. 

A moment of silence stretched on between them. Jesse eventually ventured to break it. "Well I'm plenty excited to finally be able to work with you. I been a big fan of your channel for a while now." he said with a big smile. 

Hanzo had seen Jesse smile plenty of times in his videos, but there was something different about seeing it in person. Seeing it over video had always caused a small flutter in his stomach. But now seeing it in all its glory had him feeling like there were hundreds of butterflies swarming, making him feel light. Turning away towards the set to hide the blush beginning to form on his face, he eventually replied. "Well thank you, I am fan of yours as well." 

Now it was Jesse's turn to blush. He hadn't expected both Shimada brothers to watch his channel, much less the one he was swooning over. Before he could reply, Hanzo continued speaking. "How about you take a seat while I finish getting the set ready? It should only take a few moments." 

"Sure thing." he said as he took a seat on a nearby couch. His eyes focused on the painting hung up on the wall, taking in the beauty of the different shades blues and greens. Eventually his eyes wandered over to Hanzo, silently admiring the way that suit hugged his muscular back as he diligently readied the set. "I wonder how much he works out?" he thought to himself as his gaze ventured downward, passing over Hanzo's trim waist and coming to stop at--"You ready to start Jesse?" Hanzo said as he turned around to face the other man. 

"Uhh yessir." Jesse replied dazedly. 

"Are you feeling okay? You look a little out of it." 

"Oh I was just...taken aback by how nice that suit is. Wasn't sure if I should ask where you got it from, looks mighty expensive." He prayed Hanzo would accept the blatant lie. 

"Well since we're doing a rude tailor roleplay I figured I should use one of my best suits. After all, how am I expected to talk down to you while wearing a basic suit?" Hanzo jested. 

"Hah, that's a good point. I never understood why these things were so popular. I mean I don't really care for the concept so I've never tried listening to one, but I just don't see the appeal." 

"Everyone has something that triggers their ASMR. I'm just glad it helps people get to sleep, even if it can be seen as a bit strange." 

"Yeah I guess you're right. Different strokes n such. Could I bother you for something to drink? My throats a bit dry and that probably wouldn't be good for the video." 

"Of course. What would you like?" Hanzo asked as he began walking to kitchen. 

"Naw don't sweat it, I can get it myself. You finish getting things ready." Jesse said as he got up from the couch. 

"Alright then, help yourself to whatever you'd like from the fridge." 

After Jesse entered the kitchen, Hanzo heard the front door open and Genji's familiar footsteps coming towards him. Rushing to cut his brother off before he made too much noise, Hanzo grabbed him by the shoulders to stop him from advancing. 

"Woah, I'm happy to see you too brother." Genji said. 

"Keep your voice down. What are you doing here? I thought you and Angela were going to be at the museum all day." Hanzo whispered. 

"She started feeling sick so she had to cancel. What's your deal man? Why are you whispering and why are you in your fancy suit? It's your day off." 

At that moment, Jesse's voice rang out from the kitchen. "Hey Hanzo, what do you want for yourself?" Hanzo's face fell, not wanting to meet his brother's gaze. 

"OH MY--mfph." Geji's sentence was cut short by Hanzo's hand over his mouth as he dragged him back out the front door. 

"Listen carefully, I will give you $50 to leave and stay out for the rest of the day." Hanzo said as he pulled the bill from his pocket and pushed it into the younger man's hands.

"I'll give you $100 if you let me stay and watch this mess." Genji shot back, with the biggest grin on his face. His proposition was met with the door being slammed closed in front of him.

Smoothing down his suit, Hanzo returned to kitchen to find Jesse eyeing him questioningly. "Who was at the door?" 

"Oh just some snake oil salesman, tried selling me some overpriced nonsense. I apologize for not answering." 

"It's no trouble. I saw how much tea you have so I ended up making you one of them." Jesse said as he offered the cup to the other man. 

"Why thank you." Hanzo said, accepting the cup and taking a sip. "Oh sencha, my favorite." 

"See I told you I watched your videos. Don't tell Genji but I kinda have a favorite Shimada brother." Jesse said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Hanzo almost spit out the tea, his cheeks rapidly gaining color. Quickly composing himself, he spoke "You're too kind. As much as it would amuse me to see his reaction, I promise that will be our little secret." 

A comfortable silence fell between them as they each took sips from their cups. Jesse was the one to eventually break it. "So I'm ready to get started when you are." 

"Very well, let's begin." Hanzo said as they returned to the set in the living room. Both of them took their positions in front of the camera. Getting into character, Hanzo face turned from relaxed to haughty. Jesse had the luxury of sticking to his normal demeanor. 

"Howdy there uh Mr. Shimada." Jesse said after taking a glance at the other man's name tag. "The name's Jesse, I'm here looking for a suit." 

"Well I would hope you're looking for a suit given that you came into my menswear shop. " Hanzo replied. Before Jesse could respond, he continued "Though I will admit I was perplexed as to why you chose this store over any of the other nearby ones. I don't get many people of your...caliber coming into my establishment." His remark was accentuated by the disinterested scan he gave Jesse's outfit. 

"Well I just heard if I wanted a quality suit I'd best come by here." Jesse said. 

"Of course you heard that, my workmanship is impeccable sir." came Hanzo's quick reply. "Business is slow now and I'm feeling charitable, so I suppose it's your lucky day then. Now then, what kind of suit were you looking to get?" 

"Well it's my buddy Gabe's wedding next weekend and I'm the best man, so I'm gonna need something to really wow the crowd you know?" 

"Weddings are my specialty, and I'm sure I can help you find something in your price range. Is there any particular color you need it to be?" 

"Uhhh nope. Gabe said it could be whatever color I wanted it to be."

"And what color would you like it to be then?"

"I'm really not sure, maybe a simple red." 

"This is not your average shop sir, we have a number of different shades of red available. I'm going to need you to be more specific." 

Jesse's answer seemed to be a blank stare. 

With a heavy sigh, Hanzo rubbed his temples before offering "You know what? I think I know just the color for you. I'll be just one moment." With that, Hanzo went off set for a second before returning with a crimson blazer. 

"Wow that's a mighty nice jacket." remarked Jesse. 

"Of course it is, I picked it out. Now could you please put on this dress shirt before trying on the blazer?" 

"Sure thing." Jesse said as he removed his cowboy hat then his shirt. Hanzo choked upon seeing that he wasn't wearing a t-shirt underneath. 

"N-now if you would please turn around for me." he said as he got close behind the shirtless man to help him into the dress shirt. Reminding himself that they were filming a Youtube video and not a smut film, Hanzo did his best to get the shirt on as quickly as possible without ogling the other man's well defined back too much. The comment section was going to have a field day with this one. Jesse noticed the slight tremble in Hanzo's hands, but brushed it aside for later. He didn't want to jeopardize the video, especially with how seriously he knew Hanzo took his content. 

"There, now just button that up for me and we can see how the blazer looks on you." He paused for a moment. "And please keep the cowboy hat off, I don't need any passersby thinking my shop is turning into a rodeo." Jesse snickered but did as he was told. Hanzo took a few moments to size him up. He had to admit, the other man did look quite dashing in that outfit. Not that he'd ever break character to say that, no matter how much he was tempted to. Remembering that he needed to come up with something snarky, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. 

"We might have to get you a larger size. If I may offer a suggestion for the future? It would be wise for you to lay off the sweets going forward, that suit can barely contain you." A blatant lie to anyone with functioning eyes, but it was called a rude roleplay for a reason. 

"Well I have been slacking at the gym so I shouldn't be too surprised." Jesse chuckled. He looked so handsome in that moment, his hands in his pockets with a good-natured smile on his face. A part of Hanzo was saddened to think that they were almost at the end of their filming. He supposed he could ask Jesse if he wanted to collaborate again, but that wouldn't be what he really wanted to say. As much as he hated to admit it, Genji was right, he needed to put himself out there more. Steeling himself, he resolved to tell Jesse how he felt, staying in character be damned. 

"Jesse?" he asked, his voice sounding much more gentle than the sarcastic tone he had been using for the roleplay. A look of surprise flashed across Jesse's face but nevertheless he answered. 

"Yeah Hanzo?" he replied, his expression unreadable. 

Hanzo lost his nerve.

"I...I'm sorry about the things I said for the roleplay. I know that we're acting but a part of me feels uncomfortable speaking to you in that manner." Another lie but hopefully Jesse would let it slide. Maybe Genji would let him live this down after a few years of teasing. His self-deprecating train of thought was stopped by Jesse letting out a boisterous laugh. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Remember how I said I didn't see the appeal of these types of videos?"

"Yes." 

"Well I think you single-handedly managed to change my mind." 

"Are you telling me that you actually enjoy me talking down to you!?" Hanzo sputtered as he crossed his arms. 

"Well, yeah I guess I am. Though I might be a little biased." Jesse said with a cheeky smile. Hanzo gave him a curious look. 

"What does that mean?"

Feeling bold, Jesse walked forward until he was face to face with Hanzo. 

"Darlin, you can say whatever you want to me as long as I can hear you do it in that beautiful voice of yours." 

Hanzo was at a loss for words, caught off guard by Jesse's blunt flirtation. His arms uncrossed as they came to rest at his sides. 

"You know, as much as I like hearing you talk, you're real cute when you get all flustered like that." Jesse teased. 

Hanzo had so many things he wanted to say in that moment. Attempting to salvage his cool demeanor, he settled for "That was awfully forward of you." 

"Well shucks darlin it definitely helped to know that you're into me too." 

"...did Genji tell you? I'm going to kill him when he gets home." 

"Actually he didn't, I figured it all out by myself." he said proudly. 

"What gave me away?" asked Hanzo, looking embarrassed with himself. 

"A lot of little things. You tensed up when I asked where Genji was, started blushing when I complimented your channel, and you seemed to enjoy how I looked in this suit a little too much. Not that I'm complaining at all." Flustered at being so obvious, Hanzo averted his gaze to the side. A moment later he felt Jesse's hand on his chin, gently making him regain eye contact. The lack of space between their faces was even more apparent. "Now don't get all bashful on me now darlin, ain't this what you wanted?" 

"It is. I've had these feelings for you for quite some time. I guess I'm just nervous." 

"Nervous about what Hanzo? We both like each other, seems pretty clear cut to me." Jesse said as he brought his other hand to massage the back of Hanzo's neck. 

"I'm a very busy man Jesse. My father has high expectations for me and Genji, but I bear the brunt of it as the oldest son. I never really tried having a relationship before because it was easier to just focus on work, especially with how much of my time it eats up. But there's something about you that makes me want to try. And that's terrifying for me because I don't really know if I can be a good partner. What if things are going well but I end up neglecting you because I'm too busy with work? I don't want to do that to you." 

"Oh darlin, any relationship comes with some risk involved, that's just part of the deal. I don't know the future, but what I do know is that I really like you and want to give this a try. So what if you get busy sometimes? So do I. We'll handle it together. Relationships are a lot of work, but I'm willing to put in the effort if you are.” 

“But what if I end up hurting you? You’re so warm and kind and genuine, I couldn’t bear the thought of making you sad.” 

“I’ve had my fair share of heartbreak darlin. It’s always a possibility when you get that intimate with another person. All I can say is that I’m a grown man, I’ll survive if we break up down the line. So don’t you worry none about me alright? I’d rather give it a try and see what happens than never start because you’re afraid of hurting me. I think you’re more than worth the risk. Whadya say?” 

Hanzo turned his head away from Jesse to ponder the proposition for a moment. If Jesse seemed so ready to try, why was he himself so hesitant? Sure he was concerned with Jesse’s feelings, but there was something else, something more basic. He was afraid. Afraid of how he’d react to a breakup. Sure Jesse had experienced it and survived, but he didn’t have that advantage. What if he ended up being so distraught he couldn't focus on work anymore? 

He wondered what Genji would say right now if he saw them. Probably something along the lines of “You’re overthinking this brother. How can you even be this hesitant when a man as fine as Jesse comes along with sweet words and such an earnest confession? C’mon man, you work hard enough, you deserve the chance to be happy.” 

After a few beats his eyes returned to meet the other man’s. He could see the hope and longing behind Jesse’s gaze. 

"I say you make a compelling argument Jesse." Hanzo said with a small smile. 

"Is that a yes?" Jesse questioned hopefully. 

Taking the other man's face in his hands, Hanzo closed the remaining distance between them and brought their lips together. Jesse let out a sound of content as his arms dropped down to wrap around Hanzo's waist, holding him securely against his frame. They remained like that for a few moments, basking in the warmth of one another. Eventually breaking the kiss, Hanzo leaned back to examine the dazed look on Jesse's face. 

"Is that a good enough yes for you?"

"Definitely. Hell, if I knew you were that good of a kisser I would've suggested we do a boyfriend roleplay from the beginning." 

Hanzo laughed before leaning forward to press his forehead against the other man's. Staring into Jesse's eyes he spoke "I don't believe it counts as roleplay if we're actually in a relationship, Jess." 

"Jess? We're already at nicknames huh." 

"Oh don't start with me, you were all too eager to start calling me darling." Hanzo shot back, pulling away a bit but still keeping his arms around Jesse's shoulders. 

"Well can you blame me? I see that face of yours and all I want to do is call you the sweetest names." Jesse said as he squeezed the other man in a tight hug. "But if it's that big of a deal I can just call you Hanzo." 

"...well I didn't say to stop calling me that." Hanzo mumbled into Jesse's shoulder. Breaking the hug to to look into his eyes again, he added "In fact, I might even ask you to say it more often." 

"Oh yeah?" 

"Yeah." said Hanzo as he leaned forward to give a quick peck to the other's lips. "Who could ever get tired of hearing that lovely voice call me his?" 

"Guess we both lucked out." Jesse said as he leaned close to Hanzo's ear, whispering the term of endearment over and over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for giving my fic a chance, I hope it was to your liking. As always I appreciate any comments you guys have. 
> 
> I have a few ideas for bonus chapters floating around in my head. The one I think I'm going to end up writing involves Jesse and Hanzo doing a Q & A video together a few months into their relationship. This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic so I feel like I learned some things along the way. I have another fic I want to start working on so I'm not sure when the bonus chapter will be out but I do really like the concept so I'll definitely get to it eventually.
> 
> Also, feel free to come chat with me on tumblr. My url is markwasalone. I tend to post about whatever is my current hyperfixation but I do enjoy talking about my ships.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still not sure how long I want to make this story but it shouldn't be longer than 5 chapters. This is my second attempt at writing fanfiction so any constructive comments are much appreciated. The next chapter will be about how Jesse started his channel.


End file.
